Only The Good
by Annie Coomes
Summary: An assassin, the Doctor and Rose. When survival is more than an instinct.


An assassin, the Doctor and Rose. When survival is more than an instinct.

Written for a competition with the prompt of 'an assassin is after the Doctor and Rose'.

Lyrics belong to Queen.

* * *

Only The Good

_A hand above the water  
An angel reaching for the sky  
Is it raining in heaven -  
Do you want us to cry?_

The rain was heavy that night. The thick drops breaking through the heavy air with a soft splat as it collided with the parched ground. The moon was almost yellow in its' empty sky, it sunk low towards the earth, its half crescent casting a bare light across the darkened globe. The air was warm; summer had changed the atmosphere as it became heavy and clung to the ground, the sticky humid heat cloaking the skin of those who dared to step outside. As the sun had set the world had disappeared into a deep yellow darkness, the moon was hazy in its' sky, almost too lazy to light the sky. Around it the stars had disappeared, masked by rain clouds which hung for taunting days until they finally broke.

It rained all night and all morning. The rain heavy but slow as it fell, it sunk into the Earth, healing its cracked skin. With it, it swept away the blood that stained the streets; it washed out the darkest corners as the sky heaved. As the clouds released their souls, it was the end of the world for one individual – tears mixing with rain.

_And everywhere the broken-hearted  
On every lonely avenue  
No-one could reach them  
No-one but you_

It was something that couldn't be understood. One of those things that a thousand lifetimes is spent thinking over, yet can never be understood. One of those things that holds off sleep for a million nights, one of those things that drives a person down. Something that cannot be understood – like murder. The ability to take money, to pick a target, to go out and shoot someone who has never even touched your life – the need to destroy. That was something that could not be understood.

_One by one  
Only the Good die young  
They're only flying too close to the sun  
And life goes on -  
Without you..._

There was one thing the Doctor couldn't understand. On a basic level he could understand – he could comprehend the events of the night, the way the Tardis had landed into the heat of the Earth, her atmosphere swelling with heat and casting no light amongst her inhabitants. The way that no shadows under lit them, the two figures holding hands in the dark was never shone upon the beaten skin of the Earth. He could picture it in his mind, the way her laughter felt upon the heavy air, the way her palms were always cool despite the heat that raged around them. The way they walked through the darkness unafraid and unaware as their laughter lit the night, causing sound to echo through the empty streets. He could see the way she tilted her head up to stare at him, the way the dark moon rested upon her head as though it were casting a halo upon her. The way her eyes danced with excitement as he traced her cheek with a gentle thumb.

And then he saw the rain, the rain the Earth so badly needed – the rain laced with blood.

_Another Tricky Situation  
I get the drownin' in the Blues  
And I find myself thinkin'  
Well - what would you do?_

His memory filtered away from him as the future flashed into his broken mind. The empty nights in the Tardis, the bed cold, the feeling upon waking where her feet aren't intertwined between his, the silence of the Tardis each minute and moment – the darkness that would hang over it. Then the moments that would follow, each heart shattering moment where he would reach for her hand in a moment of forgetting then to remember she was not beside him, the moments where he needed her intelligence and her mind to rescue him – the moments where he could so easily crumble if it weren't for her bright smile, her gentle fingers and her lingering hug. His mind raced to a future where laughter no longer lit his mornings, and carried on through to the night where he would carry her to bed after she had fallen asleep against his shoulder discussing the excitement of the day.

All he could see was emptiness. Emptiness and nothing.

_One by one  
Only the Good die young  
They're only flyin' too close to the sun  
We'll remember -  
Forever..._

And for a moment – just a fleeting moment, she's beside him again. Her eyes questioning and her smile soft, her hands are always tender and know just where to touch him as she pulls him against her; he loses himself in the sweet scent of her skin as he shakes against her. Her hands trace his back as he shivers, clinging so tightly to her like a child fearing being lost.

Then she fades away from him, her sweet words just a dream, just a haunting nightmare. Her smile shatters into memories of moments long gone. Suddenly he's alone again; reality is forced upon him with such a force he almost cracks. Then he raises his head one more time – the heavy rain lancing his cheeks.

_And now the party must be over  
I guess we'll never understand  
The sense of your leaving  
Was in the way it was planned?_

Then he's back in the moment, he's pulling her against his chest, he's swinging her hand within his as he walks her beside the river – the moons light barely touching the gentle surface. Her blonde hair is soft between his fingers, her smile gentle upon his face, and her words slowly lift him. She steps back – her hands still gently touching his, and then she begins to turn, her body slowly following as does the Doctor. Slowly and silently they are dancing through the streets, the darkness cloaking them but the moon lighting their faces so they can watch.

Shadows shifting behind them cannot be seen – the crunch of the ground cannot be heard – the sight of another is unknown – they are too lost in one another.

They barely see the gun rise, through the darkness, the faint yellow of the moon is caught on the metal – it catches their eyes as they both turn. Gun shots ring through the air, mixing with the sound of thunder as the sky prepares to eventually break. The Doctor meets Rose's eyes for one fleeting moment as bullets rain towards him – his eyes are gentle with promise whiles hers are wild with despair.

It's too fast for him to leap, he is prepared for the bullets to hammer into his chest – he can always regenerate he figures – he hopes. And then he sees her jump. And then he sees her fall.

_And so we dress another table  
And raise our glasses one more time  
There's a face at the window  
And I ain't never, never sayin' goodbye..._

Suddenly there are no words – she is on the floor before him, her lifeblood draining from her as quickly as her breaths are disappearing. The Doctor glances into the darkness to see nothing – just a voice calling back against the heavy air

'Now we are even'

He turns down to Rose; bullets wreck her back – a moving target she became as she leapt to protect him. Holding in his tears, his hands shaking with anger and fear, he turns her over – there he finds a fresh set of bullet marks against her breast. Her eyes are soft and unafraid as she looks up at him

'I wanted to protect you' she chokes as he runs his fingers against her wounds, her blood warming his fingers.

'I wasn't the target' he chokes out with realisation, his head falling against her shoulder – unable to hold her gaze due to the guilt running through him. They wanted to get to him – and they'd known exactly how, through her, through his Rose. She tugs against his hand, forcing his face up to watch her eyes, they are gentle and un-accusing, he is lost for words against her skin.

'Why…' he hears himself mutter softly yet angry 'Why would you do that for me'. Her smile stays on her face as gentle tears squeeze out of her eyes

'Why wouldn't I?' she shrugs with an almost laugh. 'You made me a better person Doctor' she murmurs softly. He shakes his head to these words

'You were perfect already' he admits. She half smiles

'I was just a shell of a human. You made me into someone. You made me alive' she chokes as breaths begin to defy her.

'Rose' she hears her name sobbed as he kisses her palms

'Doctor' she whispers watching his eyes. He looks so lost and confused – as though he's never watched someone he loves die in his arms before.

'You made me so much more. Because of you I can-' she chokes, blood pooling heavily around her as the sky screams again. She struggles for breath, her eyelids fighting to remain open – to take in every last detail of his face.

'I can't live without you' the Doctor weakly admits, his face defeated. She raised a trembling hand to his cheek – she has no words.

'I love you' she whispers as life begins to fail her.

'Rose…Rose Tyler' he whispers against her skin 'I never knew what love was until I met you'. He presses his warm lips against her cold ones, and she passes from beneath him – her hand giving him one last squeeze, for courage. Then she is gone.

'I love you' he whispers into the silent night.

_One by one  
Only the Good die young  
They're only flyin' too close to the sun  
Cryin' for nothing  
Cryin' for no-one  
No-one but you_

The heavens finally cracked, they released themselves, their tears falling heavy and fast into the blood lined streets of the Earth. They wet the Doctor as they pass over his features, removing his tears as he hugs the body of the woman he loves against him. They gently remove the blood from the streets, the marks of the dieing that line the passage way.

Once the Doctor rises with her body there will be nothing left of her – her blood seeped back into the Earth, the essence of her lost along with her smile and her laughter.

Silently he carries her to the Tardis, the rain a welcome pain against his skin. Softly he stoked a golden curl off her face, his tears mixing with her features as he watched her lips frozen eternally on her smile

'Only the good die young'. He studied his Rose, chokes threatening to over take him as he struggled to stand as grief wrecked his soul.

'Only the best'.


End file.
